


Elemental Hearts

by hipsterhufflepuff



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Airbender Allura (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Angst, Bending (Avatar), Coran Coran the Multi Skilled Man, Coran has a multi purpose utility belt, Earthbender Hunk (Voltron), Earthbender Pidge (Voltron), F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Firebender Keith (Voltron), Fluff, Gen, Hunk is the unwitting protagonist, Hunk's Pov, Lotor is good (sorta), M/M, Male Pronouns at First but it Changes Later, Matt is missing per usual, Metalbender Shiro (Voltron), Nonbender Coran (Voltron), Nonbender Matt (Voltron), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Radical Nationalism, Vinebender Lance (Voltron), Waterbender Lance (Voltron), give them a break
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-05-27 16:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15028151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hipsterhufflepuff/pseuds/hipsterhufflepuff
Summary: Hunk just wanted to grow up normally, or as normally as anyone in a Fire Nation occupied state could be. Become a baker or take over his parent’s bed and breakfast he wasn’t quite sure, maybe even woo the cute non-bender girl who lives down the road, and just be a normal person.But NO, the two most wanted people in the entire Nation just HAPPEN to stay at his parent’s place for the night, and he just HAPPENS to catch them bending an element that has been extinct for thousands of years, he just HAD to help them and become a fugitive by his own people.Thankfully he’s not in it alone.In order to save their dying race, Hunk must help the Air Benders storm the Fire Nation and overthrow the Fire Lord, along with the genius hoarder of his class that knows way too much about everything, a loner looking for his mother, and a goofy swamp native who is almost too naive for his own good.Maybe, somehow, they’ll live to tell the tale.





	1. It's A Decent Life

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! I've had this plot bunny in my head for quite a while now, but only just recently started to piece it together.
> 
> Expect a schedule to pop up soon. I'm still working out a few holes in the plot, so it might be slow going for a little bit. 
> 
> If you like it, please please leave comments and kudos (I'm always a slut for praise lol)
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr for more shenanigans and fun things @hipsterhufflepuff

<><><><>

There was a beautiful simplicity of a sheltered life. The normalcy of having parents constantly looking out for their children, making sure they were hanging out with the right kids, watching what they said and did while in public, and keeping the dark and scary topics of what was going on outside of their four walls out of the dinner conversations (only discussing them is hushed whispers once the children were fast asleep). All there was to do was follow the rules and they could live a long and happy life. 

That was the one wish that Mr and Mrs Garrett had for their only son Hunk, and so far, it was working.  
He was a bright boy from a young age, fixing their stove so it worked more efficiently at the tender age of six, and doing complex math equations before he could even ride his bicycle around. Neighbors and friends constantly complimented him on his big achievements and constantly pestered for the secret of success from the parents. They would laugh and simply state their philosophy.

“Shelter them and let them think within the box. No need to push them, they will flourish on their own.”

Unfortunately, they would find out exactly how valuable their son was once he became a fugitive of the state and started a revolution with a ragtag team of misfits.  
There was no advice they could give on how to stop that from happening…

**< ><><><>**

 

“Hunk, please hurry up! If you are not ready in the next five minutes, you will be spending the rest of the week doing the dishes!”  
The lively voice of his mother called through the bamboo flooring of their flat. Although now it had a bit of a shrill tone, Hunk could tell that there was no threat in her voice. He chuckled to himself as he straightened his school tunic one last time. He had been the first one in all of his classes since he started school as a child, both academically and physically, he could allow himself to be just on time for once in his life. Even so, his mother would never make him do all of the dishes by himself, the threat was merely for show.

He tugged his headband firmly into place above his eyebrows, letting his dark hair fall around his face. The emblem of his school stood out dark against the light green fabric, the ends tapering off past his shoulders. The freshly pressed tunic and pants wrapped around his large frame, the standard uniform looking more stylish than usual, and his sandals had no scuffs or marks on them. Hunk actually didn’t care too much about his appearance, but it was his last day of classes before graduation, so what if he wanted to look nice as he said goodbye to all of his classmates (and if his crush made a comment about how he looked, then getting up at the crack of dawn to buff out his shoes). With one final look in the mirror, he sighed and smiled at his reflection, grabbing his book bag from the dresser.  
“This is it. Today is the day.”

His footsteps thundered down the stairs, alerting his mother of his presence. She turned around from the stove, hands tucked behind her back as she overlooked her son. His mother did not look old enough to have a son that was nearly a man. Her hair was dark and shiny, kept in a low bun at the nape of her neck. She was as agile and capable as she was when she was Hunk’s age, the only sign of age was the small wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and her weekly Pi Sho club.

“Look at my baby boy, looking so spiffy and clean for once!” She cooed as she did her own once-over, adjusting the sash around his waist unnecessarily.  
“Ma, I’m 18 years old, I think I know how to make myself look nice.” He rolled his eyes and gently pulled away. 

He barely was able to duck the swat aimed for his head.  
“Your father and I taught you how to dress nicely, maybe we should have worked more on manners.” She scolded with a small frown, turning towards the counter next to where she was preparing the lunch for their tenants, holding a wrapped box. His lunch looked nicer than usual, promising a wonderful lunch for his last day. “I think I should give this to someone who deserves it.”  
“Sorry Ma, thank you for helping me look nice.” He sighed, giving her the best apologetic smile. The frown disappeared in an instant.

“Oh, you know I’m only doing it out of love. I’ve only have so little time left to do so before you go.” She combed her fingers through his hair surrounding his face, but now it seemed a bit whimsical, glancing over at the calendar tacked to the wall by the door frame. Hunk sighed and looked over too. The end of the week was circled several times in charcoal, marking one of the most important days of his young life, even bigger than his graduation. 

_Deployment Day_

Deep, deep down, he was dreading the day even more than his mother was.  
Though he would never admit to it aloud, he wished he did not have to join the military, especially so soon after graduation. It wasn't that it was bad, no, it was a wonderful opportunity to branch out and see the world beyond the walls of his hometown, as well as support his country. He could follow orders just as well as anyone else, but the demands of the new recruits, both physical and mental, were draining, and the potential to be sent off to the colonies where small bands of people still actively fought against the government did not sit well with Hunk. But it was required of him and all other male graduates his age. Even if it was not a mandatory law, it was seen as a custom for boys to join, it would have been scandalous for him not to.  
So he would grit his teeth and smile his way through it, just like with the other things he did not like doing. Maybe the commanding officers would see his skills were better suited elsewhere, such as the repair shops or the kitchen, rather than the battle field.

His mother had kept talking while his thoughts wandered, reminiscing of when his father had gone off and how proud and scared for him she had been. She chuckled as she shook her head.  
“You’re going to make your family so proud, son.”  
“Yes Ma.” He simply said, reaching around her for his lunch, kissing her on the cheek before exiting the kitchen. 

His father was at the reception desk, talking to two strangers about settling a room for the night, waving at his son without taking his eyes off of their potential customers. Hunk couldn’t help but stare as he walked past them.  
The Lazy Lion was known for having guests from all over the world and from all different backgrounds, usually travelers looking for cheap lodging for the night before continuing on their journey, but he had never seen anyone like these strangers before.  
They wore the light green robes of middle class citizens in the Earth Kingdom, but the garments were ill-fitting and looked odd on them.  
The pale man had such bright orange hair, Hunk firmly believed that it couldn’t have been natural. He peered over a monocle at his father, twirling his mustache as he bartered with Hunk’s father about the price.  
The young girl couldn’t have been much older than he was, a green scarf wrapped intricately around her head, barely containing silver hair, but she seemed much too young to have grey hair. Her eyes were a bright blue that he had hardly ever seen among the Earth Kingdom citizens. Why wasn’t she in school? Where had she come from?  
She made eye contact with Hunk, looking a bit startled at his appearance out of nowhere. Had she seen him staring? She pressed her lips together in a tight smile and nodded at him. Unsure of what to do, he raised a hand in greeting before speaking to his father. 

“Papa, I’m off to school. Do you need me to pick up anything from the market on my way home?”  
“Your mother just made a trip.” His father waved his hand in his direction, never taking his eyes off of the man he was bartering with. When his father was in a bartering mood, he hardly ever let anything distract him, not even his own son. “Have a good day son.”  
“You too.” He waved back, noticing that the girl had not taken her eyes off of him. She watched their interaction with interested eyes and a tilted head, slowly raising her hand as if mimicking him. Slightly perplexed, Hunk waved back. His mother would have flayed him alive if she caught wind of him ignoring someone or being rude, no matter what day it was. He quietly moved past him as the two men shook hands, finally settled on a price. The girl watched him until the bamboo door cut off her sight of him. 

He shrugged it off and started off down the road. He had met weirder people staying in the Lazy Lion, but these two had settled at the top of the list for some unknown reason.

**< ><><><>**

The schoolyard was bursting with young people as Hunk entered the courtyard. Most of them were students, wearing identical tunics, but some were professors, marked with dark green robes. They mingled among the students in packs of three, keeping an eye out for any bending or fighting that might take place. Mostly the students behaved, but sometimes emotions ran high and the sandy courtyard could turn into a Earth Bending Battle Field. Hunk waved at his favorite professors as he walked in, watching as they checked his name off of the list of students. 

The school had a strict policy about attendance. For example, if his name was not marked by the time that school started, then he would receive a strike for missing school. Each strike resulted in a fine for the family of the student. Three strikes lead to a hefty fine and punishment schooling on the weekends. If there were more than five strikes, then the family was investigated to see why the child was missing school. Rumors of the police throwing entire families in jail were spread like a virus, but Hunk had never actually heard of it happening. It may have just been a tactic to scare families from not sending their kids to school.  
Hunk couldn’t imagine not doing so anyways, why stop a child from receiving an education? Sure school was long and sometimes tedious, but this was one of the best institutions in the entire Earth Kingdom, with amazing professors and challenging work to help the kids become the best citizens they could be, why miss out on that opportunity?

He smiled widely as he came across two people sitting on the stoop of the building.  
The boy had sandy hair and brown eyes magnified behind a large pair of glasses. He was too busy scribbling away in his diary (“It’s not a diary!” He had argued when Hunk called it one aloud before). Pidge was usually quiet and sullen, but Hunk was the only person he could tolerate and keep up with in class, so he stayed close, but never letting his guard down. Hunk had known him since the beginning of the school year, but still knew little to nothing about his life outside of the schoolyard.  
The girl standing over him trying to start a conversation had dark hair twisted up into two buns on the crown of her head, dark eyes full of joy and a smile that could make the flowers bloom. The girl greeted him with a big grin and a hug, He could have sworn that his heart had started pumping harder as she wrapped her arms around him.  
_(‘Holy Crow Hunk, hold it together!’)_

“Hunk! Are you excited about today?” She asked him cheerily, looking up at him with such a soft expression, he had to hold back a sigh.  
“Yeah, absolutely. I’m totally ready for the last day of classes.” He answered with a smile, trying not to sound winded.  
“You are looking very nice today Hunk.” She beamed at him as she pulled away. 

_‘I did it for you!’_ The words sat heavy on his tongue, just begging to be said to her. Maybe today was the day that he finally gain the courage to tell Shay Balmera how he felt. Maybe today he would ask her over for a cup of tea after school, something small but meaningful.  
They had been friends since a young age, having grown up down the street from her his whole life. He knew her family almost as well as he knew his own and they had so much in common. He fell a long time ago, but only recently realized how far down the rabbit hole he had fallen. He had been meaning to tell her for months now, but every time that he looked at her, with her wide eyes and dimpled grin, his mind short-circuited.

“I thought since it was the last day I would look nice.” 

Damn his mouth for saying that.

She nodded excitedly before catching a glimpse of some other friends, politely excusing herself to greet them. Hunk stared off as she went, sighing at his inability to tell her how he really felt.  
It wouldn’t be fair to her. They were graduating, he would be joining the military and she would probably be going off to a higher education, studying geology and bending techniques that she would always rave about. It wouldn’t be fair to her, confessing and then being transferred out to the farthest regions on the earth. Maybe he could wait until after his year of service to tell her, if some guy hadn’t already see what an amazing and wonderful person she was and snatch her up.

“That’s 27.” Pidge finally spoke up from his perch on the steps once Shay was out of earshot, still scribbling away uninterestedly.  
“What?” He startled back to reality once he stopped making doe-eyes at Shay’s back.  
“I’ve been keeping track of how many times you could have grown a pair but wimped out. It’s now up to 27. Keep it up and you’ll have enough to keep a calendar.” His devious grin peered out from over his journal.  
“Yeah yeah, just keep on keeping track in your diary. We both know it’s not worth it.”  
Pidge growled in disagreement, but before he could say something scathing to him, Principal Iverson was outside, clanging the hand bell for attention. He scowled instead and pushed himself to his feet, journal tucked away.

“You know the drill.” The Principal said loudly as two professors carried out a folded up flag, hooking it to the flag pole in the center of the courtyard, each of the children standing up and facing the pole. Each student took a collective breath and started to recite the national pledge.

_“In the Name of Fire Lord Zarkon and the Fire Nation We Pledge Our Loyalty._  
_We Vow to Protect, Serve, and Die for the Nation._  
_We Serve the Galra and Thank Them for Their Protection and Service.  
_We Cast Out All Traitors in the Name of the Fire Nation  
_Verpit Sa. May He Reign Forever.”___

____The flag slowly ascended the pole, unfurling to show the red and gold banner, the black symbol of the Fire Nation embroider into the fabric. Once it reached the top, each student respectfully bowed towards it.  
When the Pledge was finished, Principal Iverson rang the bell again. All students gathered their belongings and hurried inside, ready to learn. Hunk joined Shay and Pidge during their walk to their classroom, the strangers from this morning tucked out of mind for the time being._ _ _ _


	2. Why Didn’t He Just Knock?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Updating not one, but TWO fics in one day?  
> It's more likely than you think haha.
> 
> Things are heating up! The plot starts off pretty quickly in this story, so be ready !  
> Also, this story is going to have quite a radical sense of nationalism that will be delved into throughout the story. Just remember that history is told through the eyes of the victors, not the unbiased.

**< ><><><>**

School passed by much quicker than Hunk anticipated. Then again, it wasn’t like they were learning anything important today anyways with them being so distracted about the end of the school year. So the Professors simply put on the same show that they would always play once a year, a history lesson they all knew by heart and why they needed to serve their country. A man with pasty white skin would give them a rundown of their country’s origins, how it came to be and the war fought in the name of peace.

It had all started over 10,000 years ago, back when the first benders were just beginning to settle into colonies and create structure. Blaytz- Chief of the Water Tribe, Grygan- King of the Earth Kingdom, Alfor- Leader of the Air Nomads, and Lord Zarkon- Emperor of the Fire Nation all banded together to create a balance of the Four Nations, where trade and commerce prospered and evil forces were driven out by Benders. 

It all worked well until one day, Alfor decided that peace was only won through war. He sent assassins to kill Emperor Zarkon and his family in order to start a civil war, and they very nearly succeeded, but only wounded the Emperor. Outraged by their friend’s betrayal, the other Nations quickly allied against the Air Nomads. The war lasted for decades before ending with the death of Alfor, who had decided to kill off the remaining Nomads rather than be defeated. No Air Benders have existed since then. 

The three nations decided to come together under one rule to prevent anymore betrayals. Zarkon’s bloodline is still on the throne even to this day, an unknown number of great grandsons leading same the way their forefathers had. The Fire Nation was the main ruler while the other nations helped maintain the rules, giving military support to the other kingdom’s for protection. In exchange, all young men must serve a year under the Fire Nation. Afterwords, they were allowed to pursue other careers, marry whomever they wished, and live happy lives under the protection of the Fire Nation.

Hunk and his class had heard this lesson for their entire lives; saying the pledge every single morning, obeying the laws passed by the Emperor, and eventually joining the military in order to help those in need. It had been engrained in them since a young age, it was just the way things were. There were some groups out in the fringes of the colony that sympathized with the Air Benders and fought against the Fire Nation, but they were hardly a threat. Just a scary story told to keep kids in line. 

The class barely listened to the video, writing addresses in each others planners and talking about their futures. Hunk leaned forward on his desk, chin in hand as he listened to Shay talk about the different schools that she wanted to go to once she had graduated. He was so busy hanging onto every word that she was saying, he didn’t notice the knocking at the door.  
Professor Montgomery opened the door, immediately bowing as several men dressed in black and red armor entered their classroom. Students immediately stopped talking, standing up to bow to the Military Police members. Their dark armor and pointed helmets gave them the power of intimidation, every person giving them their full attention as they sat at their desks with ramrod straight backs and hands folded in their laps. A broad shouldered man with a red eyepatch began speaking.

“Hello students, I am Lieutenant General Sendak, Head of the Police Unit here. I am here first off to congratulate all of you on your upcoming graduation. You have worked hard for this moment and are making your Nation proud. I hope to see some of you young men transferred into my unit in the upcoming weeks.” He made brief eye contact with all of the boys in the room. Hunk hid a small shudder as a singular yellow eye seemed to tear him apart. 

“Unfortunately, my congratulations today is also coming with an important announcement.”  
Some of the students glanced at their neighbors before looking back at the Lieutenant.  
What could he possibly have to announce?

“My department has just received word that there is a possible rebel hiding within our town.”  
Shocked murmurs rose from the students, briefly parroting the words in awe before the officer cleared his throat, settling back into silence.  
“I know that this sounds scary, as our town is very good at obeying the rules given, but it is assumed that this hostile, or hostiles, are from beyond our borders. There may be more than one. I do not say this as to scare you, it is merely to bring it to your attention. You are all such loyal citizens and we would hate for anyone one of you to be hurt by such radicals”

“There will be stricter patrols for the foreseeable future, as well as an enforced curfew until the threat is neutralized. I will have officers escorting you off campus grounds this afternoon and doing checks within your homes. If any of you see any suspicious activity or people that you do not know, report to the nearest station for assistance. We are here to help you.” He gave them a grin, but Hunk could have sworn that it was almost one of malice rather than comfort. Perhaps it was the eyepatch and scars covering his skin that was throwing him off, or the metal arm that he rose in salute. 

“Vrepit Sa.” He said.  
“May He Rein Forever.” The students answered.

The group of soldiers quickly left the room, probably on their way to the next classroom. As soon as the door shut, students started speaking.  
“I can’t believe it, in our own town!” A girl named Florana said aghast.  
“This is so creepy, they could be anywhere.” A boy called Puig agreed.  
“It’s obviously just a person who has lost their way.” Shay’s twin brother, Rax, said dismissively. “They are probably doing it for the publicity.”  
“Even still, it’s kind of scary.” Shay murmured.

The only person who wasn’t chiming in was Pidge. He had gone as stiff as a statue, starting at a far spot on the wall with glazed over eyes.  
“Hey man,” Hunk said softly, touching his shoulder. “You okay?”  
“I’ve gotta go.” Was it him, or did he look even paler than usual. He stood up with his book bag in hand and excused himself to the bathroom.  
Hunk stared after him for a moment before he felt an hand on his arm.

He looked up at Shay, who was looking where Pidge had disappeared to.  
“He’ll be okay. It is probably his lunch not settling with him.” She reassured him. Hunk gave her a weak smile, even though it was a lame excuse, he allowed himself to believe it, it was much easier when Shay said it, she made everything sound like it would be okay.

“Can I walk you home?” He asked suddenly, catching himself off guard.  
She looked touched.  
“Sure, but I do not believe that I am in danger. They have police officers walking us home. Plus Rax will be with me.”

“It’ll help me sleep better tonight knowing that you’re safe. I don’t even want to take the chance of something happening to you.” Apparently being scared made him talk to Shay better. Maybe it was being scared of something bigger than just being rejected.  
“Of course.” She smiled softly and Hunk felt his heart stutter. She turned back to her friends to continue her story from before, but Hunk was too busy holding back a victory dance to pay attention. Part of him wished that Pidge could have been here for that. 

Let him mark that in his diary.

<><><><>

The walk home was uncomfortable, and it was not only because of the silent soldier walking alongside them, staring suspiciously at everything around them.  
Rax was glaring at Hunk every time that Hunk talked to Shay, even answering some questions meant for her (she rolled her eyes every time he did so). She didn’t notice, or if she did, she ignored him. He was super protective of his sister, had always been since Hunk had gotten to know his sister, but this felt different. He glowered at Hunk like he was the rebel in disguise, as if he would corrupt his sister just by being in the general vicinity as her. Hunk tried to understand his viewpoint, but honestly, it was rubbing him the wrong way.

He ushered Shay inside first, allowing her to leave earshot before tossing one last glare in Hunk’s direction.  
“Cease your seeking of my sister. Our parents have already decided to arrange a courtship with another male. One of higher standing and better quality.” He looked at Hunk's middle ring clothing with a sneer, slamming the door in Hunk’s crestfallen face.  
Hunk continued with his trek home, trying not to look too much like a kicked dog, the soldier falling in step with him.

“That kid was a jackass.”  
Hunk shook his head before looking at the soldier in bewilderment, surprised that he had spoken aloud.  
“Like, I get the fact that he’s her brother or something like that, but he was a real ass to you for no reason.” The soldier shrugged. “Personally, I think he was bluffing. She doesn’t have a suitor.”  
“You think so?” He asked timidly. Even though Hunk had several inches on the soldier and they were about the same size, there was still the intimidation of his position. It was almost odd that he was speaking to him so casually, he almost forgot that there was a person behind the helmet. 

“With the way she was looking at you, definitely.” The man chuckled. “I’ve only ever seen one other person with that expression before. She’s clearly mad about you.”  
“Really? I’ve been trying to gain the courage to ask her out, but I keep wimping out.”  
“How many times?”  
“27.” Hunk muttered.

The soldier barked out a laugh.  
“You’re just as bad as I am. Listen buddy, do you care about her?”  
“Absolutely! I think she’s the best person ever. I would do anything for her.” It sounded cheesy, but the soldier didn’t laugh at him like Pidge would.  
“Then I think you should go for it. Might as well strike out rather than never even playing ball in the first place.”

The duo had almost arrived at the Lazy Lion, but Hunk wasn’t done speaking yet. This stranger had given him the biggest confidence boost, but there was something that was bothering him slightly.  
“You said that you had only ever seen that look once before, right?”  
“Yeah.” The helmet tilted so that Hunk could see his eyes through the gap in the helmet, grey eyes crinkled in a small smile.  
“Was that person someone you knew?”

The man paused.  
“Yeah.” He sounded a bit taken back by that.  
“What happened?”  
“…I’m not sure…” He said almost too quiet for him to hear.

Before Hunk could press further, he was at his front door, the giant wooden sign of a bright yellow lion yawning down on him. He pulled on the door handle, stopping when he say the small group of armored soldiers standing in the reception area, Hunk’s parents standing anxiously behind them, looking relived when they saw their son safe with another soldier. 

The men immediately saluted to the person behind Hunk, having followed him in without invitation.  
“Captain, we’re ready to begin the investigation sir.”  
“Begin with the newest guests and work your way back. If there’s any possibility of the rebels being here, they would have checked in within the past week or so.” Captain Shirogane said, any hint of familiarity gone as he gave the orders. The men dispersed and walked into the inn towards the residence’s rooms.

He folded his hands behind his back as Hunk joined his parents. “Mrs and Mr Garrett. I am Captain Shirogane, Deputy of the Omashu Guard. May we have a seat?”

<><><><>

By the time that the other guards returned, Hunk was feeling as if his brain had been through the wringer his mother used for laundry. The Deputy was sitting rigidly in their sitting room, the cup of tea his mother had made empty on the table. He had removed his helmet, keeping it on the couch besides him.  
The man was younger than what Hunk would have guessed. He couldn’t have been graduated more than a handful of years ago, it was shocking to see a young man in such a position of power. The white forelock and the scar running from one cheek to another did age him though. Captain Shirogane kept a level voice as he spoke, talking casually to them like he was an old friend playing catch up.  
If it wasn’t for the well placed questions, Hunk might have never been able to tell that this was an interrogation. 

Heavy footfalls on the bamboo floors gave a moment’s notice, a guard standing in the doorway looking expectantly at Captain Shirogane.  
“We’ve check the rooms and run them through our system. Ten Earth Benders, five Fire Benders, and two Non-Benders. All of them match up with the registry.” A guard reported.  
“Well then.” The Captain stood. “I guess that we have done our job. Send a messenger hawk to the Lieutenant with the reports. I will debrief when we return.” The man nodded and walked off.

He turned back to the Garrett Family.  
“I apologize for all of this trouble. Our orders are to look through every inn and lodging place in the city. I wish I could have given you a warning, but we don’t know who these rebels are. We wouldn’t want to tip them off in any way.”

“You don’t believe that they would check themselves into a place, do you?” Hunk’s father asked, his cheeks slightly tinted red. With as many people as he checks in everyday, it would be easy to hide in plain sight, but how embarrassing and disgraceful to his family; the ones who housed a rebel.  
“It’s our job to find out. All of your residents cleared our scans, so there is a low probability that they would be here. Thank you for cooperating so kindly, as well as the warm hospitality.” The man smiled as he picked up his helmet. “I will definitely recommend this place to my friends who visit from out of town.” 

“T-thank you, Captain.” His mother spoke up.  
“The pleasure is all mine ma'am. Have a safe night.” He bowed respectfully to them before sliding on the helmet and showing himself out. 

Hunk’s mother whimpered as she sunk into the couch seats, fanning herself to calm her down.  
“Thank goodness that is over. He was making me want to confess, even though I’ve done nothing wrong.”  
“To think, a rebel in our establishment? Our business would suffer greatly.” His father shook his head as he placed a gentle hand on his mother’s shoulder. 

“Hunky-Monkey? Would you mind taking charge of the kitchen tonight? I need to lie down for a while.” His mother asked.  
“Of course Ma.” Hunk quickly stood, gathering the cold tea onto the tray. He was more than happy to have his mind occupied on something simple rather than the chaos going on around them.

His father returned to the front desk, checking to make sure the soldiers didn’t mess up his cataloguing system while his mother climbed the stairs to their residence. Hunk decided to start on dinner preparations a bit early. He changed into his regular clothes and tied an apron round his waist, washing his hands and assessing what he had to work with.  
Rice with chicken was always an easy and delicious combo. Maybe with some whole grain rolls and brown sauce too. Maybe a dash of something sweet too, like coconuts they had left over from his mother’s birthday celebration.  
He created a dish that was similar to what his mother would cook on days she was particularly homesick. She (and the other patrons) could use a bit of comfort after today’s revelation and search. 

It wasn’t until he was making the sauce that his brain supplied him with an odd thought.  
The Captain didn’t salute.  
It was an odd detail that stuck out to him, but during his whole walk over or his stay here, he never said Vrepit Sa.  
It was customary for all officials to salute, mostly in order to receive the call back to it. But Shirogane never once asked for it. 

_‘Of all things to focus on, that is what you choose?’_ His subconscious asked. _‘There are more important things to worry about!’_  
Things like graduation, if these rebels were going to affect the event at the end of the week. Shay and her mysterious courtship that may or may not exist. The fact that his Deployment date was hurtling towards him like a train.  
Simple things. Focus on those. It was in his comfort zone, he could tackle those issues easily. He loved the mundane, it was where he belonged. 

Dinner was ready pretty quickly after refocusing, the delicious smell wafting through the kitchen and throughout their bed and breakfast. Residents started filing in, following their noses to signal when dinner was ready. He quickly washed off again and started serving those sitting down. Many of the patrons looked excited with the spread before the.

“My my, what an amazing chef you are.” An elderly Fire Nation woman drawled, reaching up to pinch his cheek as he walked by. His mood lifted nearly a thousand percent. Cooking was one of the few things he prided himself on. He loved to make people happy to eat, to distract them from their worries as they filled their bellies.  
“Thank you Ma’am, I do my best.” He smiled as he continued serving.  
“You would make an excellent chef once your year of service is up.” She concluded their conversation as she turned to another patron to discuss the latest scandal going on in the Fire Nation, something about a royal brat causing trouble on Ember Island.  
“Right, after that.” He muttered to himself, shaking his head clear as he continued to dish out his food. 

His Ma and Papa soon joined the mass of lodgers, settling down to eat at their end of the long dining table. Hunk quickly dished up their plates and handed them down to the far ends.  
“Coconut?” His mother asked with a wistful smile on her face.  
“Figured I’d use the last of them today. After this, I was gonna make a coconut cream pie, just for you.”  
His mother gently placed a hand on his arm before turning towards her meal.

“Hunk? I don’t believe that those in room 07 have come down yet.” His father said as he glanced around the table.  
“Who was in that room again?” Hunk questioned.  
“I believe they signed their names under Romelle and Wimbilton Poullox. Would you mind taking them a plate? They said they had a long journey ahead of them, they’ll need some of the best cooking in the Earth Kingdom to start them on their way.”  
The way his father looked at him, almost glowing with pride at his only son’s skill rivaled any other praise he had received thus far. His father hardly ever showed emotions, let alone ones of love and pride. Hunk couldn’t stop from beaming as he nodded, or as he dished up the plates, taking extra care with how he presented the dish before loading it onto a tray and making his way across the courtyard to the guest quarters.

The Lazy Lion was set up with the reception and sitting area in the first room, then the kitchen and dining room behind the bamboo walls. Beyond those rooms lay eighteen different one-story rooms where their guests would stay. Hunk and his family stayed in a small studio above the front part of the building, where they could overlook both the street and the rest of the building with ease.  
His parents had bought the abandoned area back before Hunk was born, transforming it from a barren lot into one of the nicest BnB’s for a hundred miles. They were as proud of their brain child almost as much as they were for their real child. His parents not-so-secretly hope that he would take over some day and raise his own family here too, to have multiple generations under one roof.  
This place was the only one Hunk had ever known. He had been born upstairs eighteen years ago, he took his first steps in this courtyard, found out how to bend out on their stoop, and had grown up under the same roof. He was happy with his life, no matter how little had happened to him.

He approached the brown door with a bronzed 07 on the door, but loud voices caused him to pause.  
Now, if anyone asked, he was not a rude person. He said please and thank you, helped elderly folks with their groceries, and held doors open for everyone. He would never, _EVER_ , eavesdrop on a conversation that wasn’t about him, let alone stand outside a door and listen in. But they feminine voice sounded rather upset about something, blame him if he didn’t want to walk in during a fight. He adjusted the tray and stood silently with his hand raised to knock. Wait for a pause, knock, leave them delicious food that would make them feel better, then scram before anyone was the wiser. 

“Can you believe them? Demanding that we show if we can bend or not!” The feminine voice rang clear, agitated beyond words. “If only I could have shown them exatcly…”  
“Could have shown them what?” The man interrupted, a different accent than what Hunk was used to. They must have been from the colonies. “Princess, there was nothing that we could have done. Not without revealing ourselves and causing a scene. You and I are skilled, but not enough to take on an entire force by ourselves. We don't want a repeat of Arus, do we?”  
Reveal themselves? Fight? What in the name of crow...

“I cannot believe this is how we have to get by. Living in secret, hiding who we truly are for fear of death by a man that my father once considered his best friend before he stabbed him in the back.”  
Whoa, this was way to personal for him to be listening too, but the woman spoke again before he could knock.  
“We must do whatever it takes to take him down.”  
“And we will, but Princess, you need to calm down.” The man tried to soothe.  
“I do not!” 

The door Hunk had been standing before burst open suddenly, nearly whacking him in the face and knocking their dishes to the ground. He looked up in the room with wide eyes, meet by similar stares. The orange haired man and the silver haired girl were on the far side of the room, as far away as they could get to the door.  
Which meant they hadn’t opened it with natural forces.

Why hadn’t he just knocked?


	3. Is This Real?

**< ><><><>**

The plates tipped out of his hands as the young lady strode forward with a hardened expression in her eyes. He had only ever seen that kind of angered look when his father had caught a group of smugglers that had camped out at the Lazy Lion and were trying to run an operation through their guest room. Hunk briefly prayed that he turned out better than they did. 

He yelped as she grabbed a firm hold of his shoulder, shoving him into their room and stopping their dinner from crashing to the ground all at once. He stumbled into the room right into the arms of the ginger man. He looked back to see that the plates of food were hovering above the ground, gently being placed back in order and rightened just how he had it without any hands touching it.  
The door slammed behind them. 

“Hold still.” The man told him as he ran his hands over and around Hunk, patting him down.  
“Wha-What are you doing? What’s going on? How did you-“  
“If you wish to keep the air inside of your lungs, I would stop talking until you have been deemed clean.” The girl said coldly, looking over his shoulder at her companion.  
“Nothing, no wires or bugs on him. By the looks of it, he was delivering dinner to us. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time.” He said as he walked around Hunk, gently pushing him onto the bed.  
“How convenient. First we’re searched by a _random patrol_ , and now he just happens to be walking by our room? Listening in on a private conversation?” The look she gave him was scathing, but he was already regretting agreeing to deliver dinner to them in the first place.

“What are you a master of?” The girl demanded.  
“Huh?” Hunk asked.  
“Master? As in the elemental realm. Or are you a Non Elemental?”  
“You mean what kind of bender I am?” He tried to clarify. “Earth, I am an Earthbender.”  
“Prove it.”  
“Right here? I really shouldn’t, my mama doesn’t allow me to Bend inside.”  
“Shouldn’t or won’t” The girl leveled with him. 

Hunk sighed, looking out the window at the field behind the lot. A grassy area with lots of dirt and leaves, it would have to do. He raised his hands, holding them out and willed the Earth to come to him.  
It was as natural as breathing, watching the rocks fly in on command and summoning them to build around his hands like gloves. The guests both gasped as it built up his arms, stopping just below the elbow. When he was done, he showed them his rock arms.  
“Is this okay?” He asked allowing the rocks to tumble from his hands onto the floor.

“I suppose you’re not a Firebender, but I’m not sure if you’re on their side.” The girl said coolly.  
“Side? What sides? Who even are you people!” He wasn’t in the place for making demands, but they had no right to ask him about his bending, and he had no right to be outside their door listening in. Tonight was a night where all the rules of society were broken and nothing really mattered.  
The man gripped the girl’s shoulder. “We should stop. We’re giving too much away.”  
She continued to glare at him, striding closer into Hunk’s personal space. He tried to hold back the whimper as they came within inches of each other, leaning over him for leverage. Her eyes were so unnatural to Hunk, they didn’t just seem blue, but had grey and white in the iris, even the smallest bit of pink near her pupils. The cerulean eyes imploring as if she could know who he was just by looking at him. 

Her face became pinched, backing away to give him some room.  
“No. He needs to know. He has to know.”  
“What did you see Princess?” The man asked softly, holding her shoulder.  
She touched his face and closed her eyes. The man gasped softly, looking intently at her. It seemed like they were communicating without even speaking. It was starting to make Hunk uncomfortable, fidgeting with the rocks on the floor to lessen the tension.  
Another moment passed before they broke apart, nodding with an understanding that flew way over Hunk’s head. 

“I apologize for our behavior, it was insensitive and rude on our part.”  
“Uh, it’s fine.” Hunk scratched his head, confused at the sudden change in behavior. He went from enemy to ally in just a couple of minutes, apparently after a change of heart in their weird mind connection thingy.  
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Princess Allura, Daughter of King Alfor. First in line to the Air Nation’s throne. This is my advisor and trusted companion, Coran Smythe.”  
Hunk didn’t even try to close his mouth.  
Air Nation? King Alfor had a daughter? The king who has been dead for 10,000 years had a daughter? But most importantly…

“You’re Airbenders?” He gasped. It would explain all of the secrecy, and the door flying open, and the trick to save the food.  
“Shush!” Coran stuck a gloved hand to his mouth, silencing him while looking around wildly. “You should not speak so openly here. We are in the middle of Occupied Territory, there are ears everywhere!” He whisper-shouted at him, slowly moving his hand away from Hunk.  
“You two are the rebels all the patrols are looking for?” He asked quieter, dread filling his belly as he answered the question himself.  
“I wouldn’t call us that.” Allura crossed her arms, a tad annoyed by that notion. “We are just trying to stop a tyrannical reign that has spread like a plague for many generations.”  
“By undermining the authorities and leaving chaos in your wake. Yeah, that’s exactly what rebels do.” He had seen footage that they played in class, on the news as some reporter shared a story about a group of rogues that had vandalized one of Fire Lord Zarkon’s statues, or had started a bending standoff out in the colonies.  
They destroyed and hurt others and did nothing about it.

“Well…” Coran drew out, shrugging when Allura threw him a look. “He’s got a point Princess.”  
She shook her head.  
“Wait, I don’t understand…well, everything? Why are you trying to overthrow the Fire Lord? How are you guys here, if you guys are who you say you are? Why go through all of this trouble? How is this even possible?”  
“It’s a very long story.” Coran sighed, looking over at the Princess then back to him. “If you’re willing to listen, that is?”

In all honesty, Hunk should have taken the bait and got the hell out of there. Even associating with rebels, willingly or unwittingly, was a ten-year sentence in prison if they were just for the average joe. But with these guys and their powers, Hunk would have been lucky if he didn’t get a life sentence, or execution along with them. For his sake and his family, he should have run away and never spoke of this encounter again.  
Nevertheless, he crossed his arms and leaned back on his hands. “I’m listening.”

Allura leaned against the wall as she started speaking softly, a stark contrast to the cold exterior she was wearing before.  
“You are right, this seems very impossible for us to be here at all, let alone having a conversation with a Earthbender. We’ve been around since before the Fall of the Air Nation. I had just turned eighteen when the war broke out. My father, fearing for my life, locked me and Coran in a cryostasis chamber. He had meant to set it for 10 years, but we only emerged a fortnight ago. It is very disorienting, finding out you’ve been sleeping for so long, and much has changed.”

“The Fire Nation is a cruel and oppressive rule, it has been since the corruption of Zarkon and his witch. Zarkon has been seeking control of all of the Nations since his rise to power, but when my father and other members of the council tried to stop him, he saw to the end of my people and countless other lives.”  
“Wait, no. That's not right. Fire Lord Zarkon was trying to bring the Nations together.” Hunk interrupted. “The Air Nation’s king wanted separation and even sent assassins to the Fire Nation with the purpose of stopping him.”  
“Is that the lie they have been spreading!” Allura demanded, the fire reignited in her eyes. “My father was a great king and an even better father. How dare that vile creature spread this kind of slander.” She stomped her foot on the ground, causing a burst of air to blow all of their hair back.

“Princess, that is not what he meant.” Coran immediately jumped in to mediate. “History is told by the victors, and things get blown out of proportions and messed up.”  
Allura crossed her arms like a fitful child and scowled at the ground. Coran sighed gently and started speaking.

“Take it from someone who stood by their sides, both men have their visions. Alfor did believe that the Nations were better off in isolation, but he still wanted to generate trade and travel between the Nations. Zarkon firmly believes that they needed to band together to fight off any threats.”  
“Threats? From who?”  
“No one knows. Even now, I am not sure if he was not paranoid about imaginary villains. But there was no assassination attempt on the Fire Lord. He lashed out at Alfor when he suggested that he take a break while his wife was ill. He spread rumors about Alfor to the other leaders and went behind his back to remove him from power. Unfortunately, the other Nations didn’t realize he was conquering their own lands until it was too late.”

“Zarkon has been on the throne for over 10,000 years. His grip on the three nations is so tight, they don’t even know that they are enslaved. He has been brainwashing the youth for generations now, telling you to serve him and the Fire Nation without question. I’ve never seen such mass manipulation. No one alive besides the two of us has ever been outside of their control.”  
“Control?”  
“It starts young. The pledge you say daily, your classes and teachers in school, the militaristic idealization for you young boys to go off to war. Parents teach their children the same way because it is the only way that they have ever known. You can’t fight against the norm if everyone believes it is the truth.”  
“Which is why he must be stopped.” Allura finally spoke up, looking at Hunk with her jaw set. “His rein of terror must end. We are the only ones who can stop it.”

“Okay…” Hunk tried to phrase this the best way possible that would not cause the Princess to make action of her earlier threat. “I understand that he killed your father and your people and he needs to pay for the genocide, but why does it have to be you?”  
Coran and Allura shared another look, communicating silently again.  
“It’s okay, we can show him.”  
Coran sighed as he heaved himself off of the bed next to Hunk and grabbed a satchel. It was worn down with the deep brown leather peeling off and a buckle was missing, but he held it close to his body, like it was the most precious thing in the universe.

“Before my father was killed, he was working on a project. He never told me what it was or why it was so important, but he insisted on linking me to it, so it wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.” Coran dug out a dirty cloth out of the bottom of the bag as Allura spoke, gingerly unwrapping it. “My father believed that with people of all four elements working together, another element could be revealed and mastered. No one has ever done it before, but this is my father’s legacy. He called it Voltron.”  
Coran handed her a stone, no bigger than a dinner plate. There were seven gems set into the dark stone, six colorful ones surrounding a diamond. It sparkled and gleamed under the candlelight, casting rainbow reflections across their faces.  
“I fear that the reason Zarkon is after me is because I am the only one who can open it. Only trained Airbenders can even attempt to unlock the element, and since there are no more…” 

“But I am in need of assistance. Specifically I need one person for all of the stones.”  
Hunk looked up from where he had been admiring the craftsmanship of the stone-plate-Voltron-thing, realizing a silence had fallen as they looked at him.  
“Me?”  
“I don’t know why or how our paths crossed. Maybe it was destiny. You must be one of the Wielders, and you must help us stop Zarkon.”  
“Wait, wait, wait." Hunk threw his hands up to stop them in their tracks. "First of all, you nearly threw me across a room when you barely even knew me, now you want to be best buddies? Secondly, you guys are rebels, no matter how you dress it or deny it, it still is you breaking the law. Just by associating with you now could send me to jail and shame my family. I can’t just go off on a dangerous adventure just because you believe it’s my destiny! I deploy at the end of the week, I-I have a girl I’ve wanted to ask out for years. I can’t risk my reputation for you guys.”  
Allura opened her mouth to protest, her nose flared in anger, but Coran beat her to the punch.  
“I understand.”

Allura turned her flabbergasted gaze on him.  
“He can’t risk his family. He’s already in danger just for speaking to us. We’ll find another more willing person.” She snapped her mouth closed, looking angry and disappointed. The ginger man turned to Hunk again.  
“Is it too much to ask if you don’t speak of this? We’ll be off in the morning and you will never have to see us again.”  
Hunk already wanted to pretend like the last fifteen minutes had never happened, so he nodded tensely. 

“Sorry for taking up your time, and threatening you. Thank you for dinner.”  
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Hunk adopted his customer service voice, acting as if he had just dropped off their food. Nothing more, nothing less. Allura looked up at him like a kicked puppy, but said nothing.

“Breakfast is at dawn tomorrow if you are still around. If you need anymore towels or blankets, they are in the closet across from the desk. Feel free to use them. Have a wonderful night.” He smiled tightly, feeling it stretch his face uncomfortably. Coran nodded and grabbed the plates. Hunk turned to leave, stepping over the rocks he had discarded. Just before he opened the door, he spoke again.

“Good luck on your journey.”  
He didn’t turn around to see if they understood the deeper meaning behind what he said. He shut the door behind him, leaning against it as the weight started to leave him. The birds sang in the evening light as one of the residents started to light their candles and lanterns outside of their rooms.  
Everything was so normal, despite everything that he had just heard. He took a shuddering breath and pushed himself away from the door, as if to leave the encounter behind him.. 

Back to simplicity.

<><><><>

Crickets chirped under Hunk’s window, moonlight streaming in uneven patterns as the clouds moved across the sky. He watched the shadows dance as he lay on his side, arm tucked under his head as he followed the strange shapes as they flew across his wall. 

No matter how much his eyes itched with fatigue or heavy his whole body felt, he couldn’t stay asleep for longer than a few minutes, jolting awake at every odd sound.  
He tried counting sheep, then counting back from one-hundred, he had tried to meditate like his father would or pretending to sleep to actually fall asleep, but nothing seemed to work. His mind was still mulling. 

The news of the rebels infatuating their home, (literally in Hunk’s case), then Pidge running off in the middle of class, (he still hadn’t heard from his short friend, which was not uncommon, but it still made him a bit uneasy), then soldiers in his home (and they had messed up his tea cup collection from their rummaging), then all of the evening’s fantastic display a dead element and talking with the two rebels that could have been handed over for a sum of money that would have set Hunk and his family up for the rest of their lives.

Overall, he was bitter and exhausted, but sleep would not take him away.

Their words kept replaying over and over again; Zarkon’s corruption, the death of an entire race still unknown, their quest to end the reign that has been around for longer than Hunk’s entire family tree had even existed. Was that even possible?

Hunk stopped that train of thought before it derailed into a giant mess. The rebels, Airbenders or not, were still trying to break the law, and overthrowing a power that was not only beyond them but so much more powerful than they realized. Fire Nation rule wasn’t that bad…  
Sure, they said a silly chant in the mornings and had to serve for a year in the military, but nearly every law abiding citizen had a roof over their heads, food on the table, and protection 24/7. Everyone was safe and warm and taken care of. That didn’t happen to people under control, right?

Unless it did…

Hunk bit back the urge to scream in protest as he flopped over onto his stomach, burrowing his head into his pillow.  
Talking with those rebels must have gotten his head screwed up, he was starting to think like them.  
Like they were right.  
Nope, no, not boarding that train. He forced that thought out of his head and out the window. If he even started to think he was sympathizing with them, the patrols would find out throwing both them and him into a jail to rot.  
They always knew.

It had happened before. Once there was a man who sold mangoes from a stand at the end of their street. His brother overheard him saying something about how maybe they should try to understand their side before arresting or bending on them. The police caught wind of this and Mangoes Man was never heard from again.

Hunk did not want to become the Mangoes Man. 

If he buried it deep inside of him, down where the memory of talking to them was shoved, then everything would be okay. No one would ever know and he would not end up like his neighbor.  
Everything in his life would go back to it’s simple, normal routine.

<><><><>

 _‘Well, that thought was fun while it lasted.’_  
The first thing that popped into Hunk’s head the next morning as he descended the stairs and was greeted by his parents standing at the foot of the staircase. He ceased rubbing his fatigued eyes, snapping awake instantly at the look on his parent’s faces. They were oddly blank, which freaked him out more than he could describe.

“Ma? Papa?” He asked cautiously.  
“We’ve got your letter in the mail.”  
He deflated slightly, but then stood up again in confusion.  
“My what?”  
“Your enlistment letter!” His mother gave up the poker face and flung her arms around his neck with a squeal. “Oh Hunky-Monkey we are so proud!”

His father patted his shoulder, the letter clasped in his hand. Hunk could barely make out the dark text on the red paper, only a boldly typed CONGRATULATIONS and a squad number and rank.  
Oh.  
With all of the drama yesterday evening, he had almost forgotten about his worry with the military.  
He gently took the letter from his Papa, his Ma finally releasing him as she waited for him to read it:

 

**1st PRIVATE GARRETT, HUNK T.  
** UNDER THE COMAND OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL S. SENDAK.  
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS- HEAVY WEAPONS UNIT  
REPORT TO THE TOWN CENTER FOR UNIFORM SIZING TODAY AT NOON 

Hunk had been expecting way worse news, nearly sagging back into his mother’s arms as she hugged him again.  
“I cannot believe they would station you so close to home. It’ll be like you never left! Oh, this calls for a celebration!”  
“Oh, no, Ma. Everybody is probably getting their today too…”  
But they are not my son!” She chimed as she scurried to the kitchen, probably off to call all of her friends and brag about her son staying so close to home.

“I’m proud of you.” His father clasped his shoulder tightly, looking over the paper again. “I have never seen anyone transferred up a level without even stepping foot onto the base, but my son has always been extraordinary.”  
Hunk beamed as he looked between the two. With how awful last night had gone, even being deployed was good news.  
“Back in my day, we used to have to wait and antagonize over who we would get as our commanding officer. I guess they’re doing things differently now.” His father shrugged as he went back to the desk. 

Something odd stuck out to Hunk.  
“Pa?”  
“Yes?”  
“Do you know of anyone else that has gotten a letter? Like Rax or Pidge?”  
“Actually, no.” His father paused, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “Come to think of it, you’re the first one. Even last year they waited until the last moment to let them know.” His Pa shook his head and chuckled. “Guess they’re doing things differently this year.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Hunk trailed off, looking back at his letter.  
It was standard Fire Nation parchment, with the insignia and everything. Which meant that it was legit enough to pass through the mailing system. It had to be real, maybe it was a new system they were starting off this year?  
But why did Hunk still feel uneasy about a piece of paper?

“Pa, I gonna head down a little early. Gotta make sure I get first in-line, ya know?” Hunk grabbed his bag and his jacket, not hearing his father’s response to his farewell. He firmly fitted his jacket over his chest and slung his bag close, shoving the paper in with no sense of delicateness. He barely heard his father’s response before he was out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens!
> 
> I promise we are getting to the other characters and more action, but this is just for some background explanation and rising plot. We'll get there soon.  
> Comment and leave Kudos below!


	4. Chapter 4

<><><><>

 

The weekends were always packed with townies and travelers as they enjoyed the local market. Fresh produce, flowers, delicious delicacies, and artwork that the townspeople made were on display in individual booths and stands, shouting out their deals and bargaining with customers, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, even some Water Tribe who were passing through. Hunk weaved in and out of the crowd aimlessly, occasionally bumping into people who scorned him for his carelessness as they bustled by. 

Hunk couldn’t help but feel like everyone’s eyes were on him as he walked down the street. He constantly was looking over his shoulders and clutching his bag close to his body like it was his only lifeline, he wouldn’t blame them for their concerned eyes.  
He knew he needed to go to the town square for his uniform fitting, but something was stopping him from turning down the street, some deep dark feeling in his gut that warned him about going. It was mandatory, they would know if he missed the fitting, he didn’t want to even think of the consequences and shame that his family would face. But something was going to happen, and it wouldn’t be good. It was ridiculous, and Hunk tried to reason with himself, but his gut was never wrong. 

He was just about to convince himself to go back home, claim that it wasn’t that day or some other excuse when he saw a familiar dark haired girl looking at jade earrings an elderly lady was pawning off.

“Shay!” He called out, waving his hand at her.  
She turned around, beaming in delight when she recognized who was yelling for her.  
“Hunk! It is so good to see you!” She threw her arms around his neck, pulling herself off of the ground. Hunk tried his darnedest to not flush at the sudden intimate contact, but she pulled away before he could reciprocate the action. “What brings you to the market?”  
“Uh, actually, I kinda was just wandering around. I was on my way to the city hall. I’ve got uniform fitting today.”  
“Uniforms? Today? I thought you did not find out your placement until after Graduation?” Shay knit her eyebrows together.  
“That’s what I thought, but this arrived this morning.” He glanced around quickly before showing her the document like it was forbidden.  
She cocked her head in confusion.  
“That is strange. Rax has not received any kind of summons like this.” 

The dread that had filled Hunk’s stomach dropped like a heavy bolder.  
“Oh.”  
“Perhaps it is to reward you?” Shay spoke quietly.  
“Maybe.”  
“Would it help if I came with you? In case it is a prank or something, it would be good to have a friend along.”  
Part of Hunk was elated, spending more time with his crush, but doubt still crept into his mind.  
Had she called him a friend? As in just a friend?

“Oh,” he realized she was still waiting for his answer. “Yes, of course you can come with me. I’d love the company.”  
“Great!” She exclaimed, fixing her strap to her purse with a content smile. “We shouldn’t dally, I believe your paper said it began at noon.”

They walked side by side through the market, filling their silence with meaningless chatter, gossip from the other classes, relationships that were starting and ending, and the drama of their school gently coaxed Hunk’s mind at ease.  
Shay made everything so simple and put his busy mind to rest, it was definitely a breath of fresh air after having such a stressful 24 hours. 

The two of them emerged in the town square, a large city block closed in by the National Bank, the Library, the Fire Nation Outpost, and the City Hall. People drifted about, but it did not look like anyone was waiting around for anything.  
“That is strange. Usually they prepare ahead of time whenever there is something important going on.” Shay was starting to sound suspicious.  
“Yeah. Maybe we’re early?” He suggested half-heartedly.  
“Perhaps. Shall we wait on a bench?” She gestured for him to move ahead, directing them towards a bench. It would be a great spot to see if there was anything going on from, all while getting to be comfortable with each other.

Just before Hunk sat down, he noticed a flash of green out of the corner of his eye. Looking up at the movement, he barely saw the flash of green robes as it disappeared behind the city hall building.  
“Shay stay here.” He said tensely, leaving Shay in a confused state for a moment as he darted after them. Heavy footsteps behind him signaled that she had not listened to his advice. 

He barely rounded the corner as he saw the tail end of green, climbing through a window. Hunk made to follow after them, but he noticed a dilemma real quick. The window was at eyebrow level with him, and about ta foot too narrow. He would never make it through, not without breaking something in the process.  
“Hunk? What’s wrong?”  
“I thought I saw…” The people from last night? The Air Benders? He couldn’t say, especially not so close to a window where someone could hear. He leveled his gaze, then looked down at the ground, toeing the ground suspiciously. The ground was mostly dirt and cobble stones back here, as was all of the paved roads in Omashu were, but the ground below the window felt staggered and uneven, almost like someone had disturbed it with bending, and as far as he knew, the Air Benders were not Earth Benders too.

“Shay, your father works here, right?”  
“Yes, why?”  
“Which department does he work for?”  
“Records, which is…” Her eyes grew huge as she realized which window they were standing underneath.  
“I think someone is breaking into his office.”

“Not on my watch.” She took a defensive stand, ready to bend her way through. Hunk barely got a hold of her before she started moving.  
“As awesome as it would be to see you knock this wall down, we should probably use the front door. Less suspicious.”  
She shook her head. “Your right, let’s hurry.” Shay grabbed his hand and tugged him after her.

The building was very quiet, only a lone receptionist sitting at her desk. The girl smiled widely as Shay and Hunk approached.  
“Ms Balmera, how are you this afternoon?”“I am well, just here to grab some files for my father. He wanted to get a head start on the Sicilene files before the week.” Despite her fisted hands behind her back, Shay was an excellent actor, even with the circumstances.  
“Of course, what a productive man your father is. You know the way.” The woman waved them off with a cheery grin. Hunk awkwardly waved back as Shay marched forwards, toting him along by his elbow and grabbing a candle holder and a match. 

Her brown eyes narrowed once they approached the door. The Records room held all of the archives within a giant room, any event that had gone on in the Earth Kingdom was held here in a copy. Things such as mission logs to letters sent within the Kingdom were copied and stored here. Taking a scroll from here was punishable through jail time.  
Through the fogged glass, they could make out a figure, huddled behind the desk. Shay opened the door as softly as she could, guiding Hunk in silently before shut the door with a loud snap.  
Alerted, the figure sprung to their feet, but before they could make their escape out the lone window, Hunk sharply moved his hands, the earth moving from under the floorboards to block them in. The figure spun around when their exit was blocked, seeing no other way out, silhouetted by the one candle that was lit, their hood fallen in their haste to leave. Shay barely held back a gasp.

“Pidge?”  
His classmate spun around, realizing his hood had fallen, his shoulders sagging in defeat as he held up his hands.  
“Dude, what are you doing?” Hunk asked, looking between him and the desk.  
“None of your business.” He bit back, scowling at the floor.  
“It may not be, but you’re breaking and entering. It deserves some explanation.” Hunk countered.  
“I said it’s not your business!” He went to push past them, but Hunk was faster, moving his hands so Pidge’s feet were stuck to the floor, mud making it impossible to move. Shay furrowed her eyebrows as she concentrated to keep him still. 

“Hey!”  
“I’ll let you go when you tell us why you're here.” Shay said, taking on a harder tone that Hunk had never heard from her before, he didn’t think she could be so harsh, but yet here she was (he was just glad to not be on the receiving end of it).  
“You won’t understand.” He countered.  
“Pidge, we’re your friends, please confide in us.”  
He sighed heavily, pulling out a scroll that had been hastily shoved in his coat, letting it drop to the ground.  
“I’ve already read it, I’ve almost memorized it.” He said as Hunk picked it up, gently unfurling it. It didn’t say much, just some coded words and numbers that he didn’t quite understand. Only one word was clear.  
Kerberos.

“Pidge, why are you…” He wanted to ask why he had gone through so much trouble to fetch a confusing scroll, but he heard voices behind them.  
“I thought there would be more marked under Blade, could there be more information under Marmora?”  
Shay grasped their hands and yanked them, hiding behind the desk. She slapped a hand over each of the boys’ mouths as footsteps approached. Pidge and Shay looked petrified at the risk of being caught out of bounds, but Hunk narrowed his eyes. He recognized that voice. Ignoring Shay’s hiss in protest, he stood up abruptly. 

“You? Again?” He pointed an accusing finger at the two shadowy figures.  
The princess and her friend looked shocked to see him, nearly dropping the scrolls in their arms. He was told they would be long gone by now.  
“Mr Garrett. What a surprise.” Allura said tensely, narrowing her eyes at the desk. “And some friends.”  
“You have no right to be mad at me, I’m the one who has had to cover for you.” Hunk protested as Shay and Pidge crawled their way out, standing up and observing the new faces. “What are you doing here? You said you were leaving town this morning?”  
“What we do is none of your business, remember?” Allura growled.

“Hunk, do you know them?” Shay asked softly.  
“I wish I didn’t.” He glowered.  
“Wait a second,” Pidge spoke up. “You aren’t Earth Benders.” He observed them from head to toe.  
“No, what they are is rebels hiding in our town.”  
“You can’t be serious. These are the rebels?” Pidge asked.  
“How would you know? It takes one to know one.” Coran pointed an accusing finger.  
“Actually it doesn’t.” Pidge deadpanned.

“Hunk, how do you know?” Shay asked quietly.  
“They were staying at the Lazy Lion last night. I saw her Air Bending. They're planning something.”  
“You promised you wouldn’t tell.” Allura said angrily.  
"But that's not possible." Pidge muttered. "Air Benders have been dead for years."  
Hunk ignored his friend. “You promised you’d keep me out of it, yet here you are. Are you following me?” An idea struck him, reaching for his paperwork in his satchel, striding forwards to wave it in their faces.  
“Is this yours as well? Thought it would be funny to trick me into playing along with you?”

“Let me see.” Coran struck out a hand, snatching the paperwork from his hands.  
“Just so you know, we are on our way out.” Allura clarified.  
“You just had to steal from the records room first, right?” Pidge asked.  
“Weren’t you in here doing the exact same thing?” She countered.  
“I know what you mean by trick, this is a very solid piece of paper here.” Coran flicked a finger at it. “But it wasn’t us lad, believe me, we don’t have the resources to fake Fire Nation Papers. If we did, we would be farther along than we are now.”  
“Not you?” Hunk deflated, grabbing the paper back from them. If it wasn’t them, and it wasn’t real, then who had given it to his family?

A voice cleared their throat, but it wasn’t anyone in their circle.

All five of them spun around, seeing Sendak standing in front of the door with half of a platoon. The receptionist was cowering behind one of the men, shaking in her shoes with fear.  
Shit. They heard everything.  
“I never expected a group of rebels to be so idiotic. Stealing from the Record’s room in broad daylight, loudly discussing plans for all to hear.” The commander shook his head. “Not the brightest bunch.”  
“Yeah, how’s this for idiotic?” Coran asked loudly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bead, throwing it as hard as he could at the Fire Nation soldier. A giant cloud of dust and smoke filled the room, temporarily blinding the soldiers. Hunk was on the same wavelength, moving the wall of earth as hard as he could, the wall breaking down as he did so.  
“Run!”

They didn’t need to be told twice, ducking out of the wrecked wall as fast as they could. Shay took the bits of mud from Pidge’s shoes and flung it at the guards, blinding the first few that had emerged. Hunk helped her down and grasped her hand as the group ran.

Coran took the lead, with Princess Allura and Pidge right on his heels, Hunk and Shay taking up the rear. Air Benders must have incredible endurance, they were not even winded by this escape. Shay, Hunk and Pidge on the other hand were gasping for air. Earth Bending classes focused more on having a strong core and powerful moves, not so much on endurance and speed.  
Heavy footfalls behind them alerted them that the troop, or perhaps another one, were catching up to them.  
Something metal disengaged from behind, a chain rattling as it barely missed their feet. The Fire Nation did not often use bending to apprehend, focusing more on capture than stopping, so they had their own devices to catch perps. Allura spun on her heel and knocked them back a few paces. Another net rattled free, this time landing solidly. 

Shay fell with a pained cry, twisting her grip out of Hunk’s. He spun around, eyeing widely from his empty hand to the silver net that had his crush entangled in.  
“Shay!” He moved as if to run back for her, but she shook her head.  
“Get out! Get away!” The guards had caught up to her now, dragging her back the way that they had came.  
“Hunk!” Coran shouted, grabbing his free hands and tugging him away, fumbling with something else in his grasp.  
“I’ll come back for you! I promise~!” Hunk shout turned into a scream of terror as his feet abruptly left the solid ground, some unseen force taking him higher and higher off the stone pavement. 

Hunk screamed, grasping onto the tunic of Allura’s friend like it was his lifeline. They were so high in the air Hunk nearly had a wave a vertigo hit, then they abruptly turned, falling towards a roof with incredible speed.  
Hunk flopped as they landed. Coran tucked and rolled out of it, pulling Hunk to his feet and across the rooftop before he could even catch his breath. Allura and Pidge were ahead of them now, the Air Bender towing the smaller Earth Bender behind her.  
“Hold on!” Coran gave him a warning this time before they leaped across the rooftops, floating for a second too long to be normal. They continued this throughout town, trying so desperately to stay ahead of the growing number of Fire Bender soldiers chasing after them. 

Sooner rather than later, they ran out of buildings.  
“Watch out!” Coran shouted to Allura, who grabbed a tighter hold of Pidge and leapt straight off of the building, Coran and Hunk following. They didn’t crash down, despite Pidge’s and Hunk’s screaming, but they floated down like bubbles, landing with a small stagger before starting to run again, this time through the market. The four of them started throwing stands and objects as they raced by to stop their impending foes. It seemed to work for the most part, getting caught up in the merchants and their artifacts. 

They were reaching the end of town, thankfully this was one of the few towns that hadn’t built a giant wall to keep them in. They stumbled as the hard packed street turned into grass and dirt. The soldiers couldn’t leave the town limits, not without permission from the squadron leader. It would give them even just a few moments to reach the forest, to get lost among the trees and leaves. They just had to keep going. 

Hunk really needed to stop being a optimist. 

Something sharp and hard flung around his knees, knocking them painfully before he landed face first with an ‘oomph’, eating a mouthful of grass and dirt as he slid to a stop. Another cry to his right gave away that Coran had met the same end. He looked up just in time for dark red arms to grasp him and hold him tightly. Hunk tried to bend, to will the Earth to swallow them up, but he couldn’t move, neither the ground nor his body. He tried and tried, but to no avail.  
What the hell?

“Stop!” A deep commanding voice caused him to freeze, allowing the soldiers to pin him down properly. He forced his head to turn so he could see what was going on around him. Sendak had caught up so quickly to them.

Allura was surrounded by soldiers, she held them at bay with a clenched fist. They seemed to be struggling for breath, like she was squeezing the air out of their lungs. The wind had picked up, picking up dirt and sticks and rocks out of the ground, which was doing nothing except for making them a dirty mess. Another soldier held onto Coran, forcing him to hold still, while another grabbed his satchel and started to rifle through it.  
Pidge on the other hand was still struggling within another soldier’s grasp. He was held by a metal hand around the back of his neck, but the hand did not connect to anybody. The hand must have squeezed tighter, because he let out a high cry of pain. 

“I said stop. Unless you want to be the reason for her suffocation.” Sendak commanded once more, directed at Allura as the metal moved around Pidge’s head, wrapping around his mouth and nose. Pidge clawed at the metal barrier but couldn’t get anymore air. Allura narrowed her eyes and slowly let her arms drift down, the mini storm dying as she released her hands. Pidge was released, allowed to breath before the metal slithered down his arms to capture his wrists. Allura seemed fine, not even out of breath, the only person was near suffocation was…

Wait, Pidge was a girl?

This revelation shocked him more than anything else had today. Pidge looked ashamed as he—she bowed her head as she was brought over to kneel besides Hunk and Coran. Allura was forced down on the other side of them, shackled at her wrists.  
“You won’t hold me for long. Zarkon will fall, and I will be the one to see it through.” Allura stated hotly, glaring up at their captor.  
“Believe me, the only one that will be falling will be you and your advisor, your majesty. Treason, stealing government documents, and lying to soldiers should be enough to earn you an execution.” 

“As for you two,” He rounded on the children, Hunk struggled to meet his eyes. “Instead of graduation, you will be spending the joyous occasion in prison. Unless the Fire Lord shows you pity. He may not for traitors conspirators.”  
Sendak whistled sharply, nodding his head. Another soldier approached.  
“Send a falcon to the Emperor, telling him to expect a shipment of prisoners.”  
“Yessir.” The man raced off as the four of them were forced to their feet. 

“Shirogane!” Sendak called out, Hunk felt his heart leap into his throat as the soldier from yesterday, the one who had good advice for him and Shay, approached, his dark eyes narrowed in contempt.  
“How would you like to be the one who delivers these traitors to the Emperor?”  
Shirogane fell to his knee with an arm crossed over his chest.  
“It would be my honor. Vrepit Sa.”  
“Vrepit Sa.” Sendak called back, looking up and down the line one last time, his eye locking with Hunk.

“It’s a shame Garrett. You could have been the best man on my squad, if only you had shown up on time.”  
With that cryptic message, he whistled again, motioning with his head to follow after him. Without much choice, they followed, guilt and shame flooding over Hunk.  
How did this happen?


End file.
